The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[Fred Trout]

Very nice results. It's like putting a puzzle together.

[KCStudly]

Thanks Fred.

Wife and I are going to take a day off for a mini stay-cation today, so no build updates.

[Wolffarmer]

Two of my motorcycles just pulled out of my place. Headed your way.

[KCStudly]

I hate that. You know, when you have owned a vehicle for years and it holds special place in your memories? The one that you'd always dream about getting back on the road and never seem to have the time or money to do so.

Then when you reluctantly sell it you know that you are giving up on a dream and memory at the same time and instantly regret it.

I know the feeling and it is never any fun.

[Wolffarmer]

Well, they had to go sometime. I almost listed the most valuable one a year ago. Could have gotten almost $10,000 for it pretty easily. Instead of $1500. Oh well. What is done is done.

Watch for a Black Toyota Pickup with 2 brunt BMWs in the back. They could be there Monday or Tuesday.

Or if anyone between here and there.

3.5 million people in your state. I do not call Idaho "The State of Coincidences" for nothing. It all started with Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea. I will run into people very often. Even if they are in the opposite end of the state from where they live. And Idaho is a long state.

Randy

[Sheddie]

We had a situation like that years ago. In 1968 my Dad had bought my Mum a 1956 Austin A30. It had done less 15,000 miles. She used it all the time running me around when I was at school, and doing meals on wheels for the old folks. In 1986 at 35,000 miles Dad decided it was time for an update. It was sold to some people in Auckland, and we lost track of it after that. I always regretted letting that one go. In 2005 a private car museum in Waihi was closing down and putting their cars up for auction. As you do, I had a look through what they were selling and spotted a little green A30 and thought that is just like Mums one. A bit of investigating, and yes it was. It had spent 13 years in the museum and was only up to 39,000 miles. We ended up paying twice what we had sold it for, but it is now back home where it belongs along with My Dads beloved '67 Humber Super Snipe. Mum and Dad have both gone now but we have great memories driving around in the cars I grew up with.

[Wolffarmer]

Great story and some neat looking cars. I bet they are fun to drive around the country side. Tasking it slow and easy and enjoying the drive and not going like a maniac.

Kevin, just found out they are going to Granby. Almost 70 miles from you. I have seen stranger things happen here in Idaho. Many many times so you will meet up with them some day soon.

[KCStudly]

Great story, Sheddie. Thanks for sharing.

Randy, I will keep an eye out for the bikes.

[KCStudly]

Yesterday Yvette and I took a ride along Route 1 stopping at a couple of thrift stores that she was interested in. The first place had a bunch of reclaimed architectural stuff out front, windows, doors, furniture, golf clubs… pretty much everything. Leaning there out in the weather I spotted a rip fence for a table saw that looked familiar. Sure enough, it was for an early 27 inch Powermatic 66, just slightly newer than my saw. You may recall that the casting on my fence was busted out at the micrometer shaft boss, so I figured if I played my cards right I could get this one for cheap. The owners asked me if there was anything I was interested in and I said there was a green metal thing with a faded price tag. Guy said half-jokingly that the tag must have said $150. I scoffed, said no way and offered $10 (my high end, but I value it from $50-70). He jumped at it. After the deal was done he kind of asked what my interest was and when I told him what it was and why I wanted it, he looked real disappointed because he knew he probably could have got more from someone who knew what they were looking at. Anyway, I figured I got a deal and he made what he needed to on it; which was probably way more than he had into it. Here it is on the saw next to the original. The knobs on the levers are a little different style, and the fine adjust knob is plastic, instead of die cast aluminum.


This is the underside of the existing fence casting. Note the busted out casting (under the washer behind the spring I added to keep the fine adjust shaft gear teeth from engaging when not in use).


Whereas on the newer one the casting is intact.


My guess is that this was taken off of its original saw when somebody upgraded their fence, sat in the corner of someone’s shop for years, perhaps even being left behind in a move, and was then scooped up in a clean out by the junk vendor. Score!

Continuing with the clearance lights I opened up the router template for the front blocks. Here you can see it mounted to the street side wall. I figured I could attach it temporarily using drywall screws thru the foam and into the blocking under the inner skin for the roof spar and front cabinet face frame.



Test fit the block.


For holding the template I made sure to set the pilot drill depth appropriately and had some longer drywall screws that I took downstairs to shorten on the Bader, but I got distracted and forgot to check that I had shortened them sufficiently. I was livid and cussed a bunch when I found that I had poked thru the finish on the inner wall… on both sides!!!



Add it to the list of things to fix.

Next I drilled the wire holes thru the bottoms of the mounting blocks, laid out for and milled the wire pockets.


Next I marked the wire routes using a sharpie and straight edge. They are 3/8 wide and run from the center of the side marker lights to the center of the side clearance lights. Here are the curb side rear and front.



I scrounged up a piece of scrap pine to use as a straight guide fence for the router but I didn’t really have a good way to clamp it to the wall, so I added some strips of 5 mm ply let into the ends with flat head screws so that I could clamp it to the top of the door frame and fasten it to the wall sill with a single temporary screw.




Here is a detail shot of the lap joint. I just nibbled the rabbets away using the miter fence on the table saw.


Sort of hokey, but tying the vacuum hose to the router helped me manage it enough to get into a position where I could hold it better with my off hand, enough to get the job done without eating foam dust.


And here is the routed out channel for the wires. The plan is to T-splice extensions onto the marker light wires, run them up, then glue in filler strips of foam to cover the slots back up.


The marker light wires kept the router shoe from coming down all the way, so I had to dig the last little bit of foam out with the steak knife. Then I drilled the hole thru the top of the sill into the wire pocket for the side marker light.


At the top you can see how the wire trough lines up with the hole drilled thru the bottom of the block.


Now it is just a matter of wash, rinse, repeat a few times, but that will be another day.

[Fred Trout]

Does CT require all those marker lights ? In MT, the trailer has to be longer than ours to require any at all if I read the regs correctly. I plan on using some reflective tape all around just in case & am considering two extra LED lights to fit high up into the awning rails when I drive at night for better safety.

http://www.tapejungle.com/reflective-ta ... ade-10-yd/

[OP827]

KC, FWIW, cast iron can be repaired with specialty manual stick elecrodes. Castolin+Eutectic makes them. I forgot the electrode number, but you could look it up, not if it worth the effort, if you already got a replacement fence, but your frend Karl could interested in this stuff as being a fabricator. cheers.

[KCStudly]

Yeah, it can be fixed, but didn't really need to be since it was still working okay. For the $10 I now have one that is intact and can use the second one for different setups, such as a permanent zero clearance fence or narrow rip fence.

Even with those special rods using preheat and post heat techniques, welding CI can be hit or miss; as the CI grows and shrinks rapidly it tends to pull cracks.

[Wolffarmer]

I have welded cast iron with rod called Brutus. And should heat the iron up a bit before welding.

Be careful of those plastic knobs. They will melt if you get them to hot. I know.

I have one of those Bessemer fence clones. the HPDM plastic on it melted.

[KCStudly]

No need to weld it. Just couldn't pass up such a good deal for "spare parts".

Randy, are you still going to take the building down, or is that done already?

[Wolffarmer]

Going to take most of it down. Save one wall and parts of two others for at least a wind break. And dirt trap.


Maybe put up one of those Plastic shelters. drill holes in the cement floor to really anchor it down.